PHILLIES: Ruf trying to handle rough task of changing positions

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf leans against the outfield fence after the ball hit his glove and then went over the fence for a two-run home run by Atlanta Braves' Freddie Freeman during the second inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game on Monday, March 18, 2013, in Kissimmee, Fla. Ruff was not charged with an error on the play. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Perhaps the best thing Darin Ruf had going for him coming into this most important of spring training tryouts was a conviction that he’d picked the right friends. Certainly, you never know when you need the support.

So after Ruf did what any player trying to make a daunting position change while also trying to convince his bosses he can consistently hit the major league curve might do – turning what should have been a long flyout into a home run in an exhibition against Atlanta – he knew he could count on his friends to keep quiet.

Even in the murky world of social media.

Ruf, a should-be first baseman who in Ryan Howard’s shadow is trying to convert to an outfielder, let a Freddie Freeman fly ball go in and out of his glove, then pop over the left-field fence amid a 17-10 slopfest Monday at the Braves’ Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista.

Advertisement

Before he was off the bus back to Clearwater, the video of Ruf’s error that actually was called a hit (and so a homer) was being tweeted and linking off blog sites everywhere. But while his smart phone might have been all abuzz after the game, Ruf said he didn’t have to worry about thumbing through any friendly text-ribbing.

Asked if he was receiving grief for the gaffe, Ruf said, “No, my friends are a little nicer than that.

“Obviously I can always improve on things like that but I think I made a lot of strides from the first day of camp,” Ruf said. “Especially with my breaks on the ball and throwing mechanics. Hopefully I can keep improving and I can make myself a little bit better of an outfielder.”

Ruf, 26, is belatedly searching for ways to make himself a little bit better overall. If he wishes to leave his minor league days behind, that’s something he’s probably going to have to do, since the one home run, 12 strikeouts and .216 batting average he has produced thus far in the spring doesn’t exactly cut it.

No matter how difficult switching positions has been.

“I’ve been working really hard on my throwing mechanics and ... the hops and things like that. I actually got a little more on (outfield throws) than I thought I would,” Ruf said. “It’s tough going from first base to the outfield, because at first base the longest throws I make are maybe 60-90 feet and I don’t have to close my front shoulder. I can have a little tail on the ball. In the outfield you can’t do that. You have to get your front shoulder closed.

“That’s what I was working on early because my arm started hurting and I was trying to make 150-foot throws like I was a first baseman, so it put a lot of strain on my arm.”

If Ruf has something going for him in this, it’s the state of the Phillies’ outfield. While Ben Revere started the spring as the club’s only every-day outfielder, Manuel all but crowned Domonic Brown yesterday as his daily right-fielder of choice. But with the likes of Laynce Nix, John Mayberry, Ender Inciarte and always aching Delmon Young as competition, Ruf would seem to at least have a fighting chance to stick around.

“It’s got to be kind of tough for him to change positions and to try to make a major league team,” Charlie Manuel said of Ruf’s outfield adventure. “On days when he don’t play good, he has to think about and it bothers him. It would bother me and it would bother anybody else.

“I think it’s been a good experience for him. We’re going to still play him and things like that and see where he’s at. The more he plays, the better he’ll get. He’ll get his confidence and we’ll see.”

It’s Ruf’s offensive prowess that opened eyes last season. He made leaps and bounds last summer by hitting 38 home runs and collecting 104 RBIs at Class AA Reading in 139 games. Promoted to the Phillies, he produced three home runs, 10 RBIs and hit .333 in 12 games. But trying to work into a new position this spring seems to have eaten into offense.

“I try to separate it as much as possible, but if you’re only working on one thing ... it might have delayed how quickly I picked things up at the plate,” Ruf said. “But during games I was separating them as much as possible.”

With an almost wide-eyed humor Ruf added, “Over in minor league camp I can get away with having a bad week or two. Over here, they can find things ... you’re expected to do a little bit more. But hopefully the last two weeks I’ve been striding a little more.”

Whether or not he makes strides toward starting the season with the big club remains to be seen, but time is running out. Despite that, Ruf knows this spring is mostly about working on new things in the field that he hopes can lead to that big-league thing he seemed destined for last year.

“I have to work on my swing a little bit,” Ruf said. “I was a little long early in camp. The more reps you get the shorter and shorter it becomes. I’m getting closer to where I was last year.”